Liquified petroleum gas

  Liquefied hydrocarbonic gases (LHG) represent a mix liquefied gases of the propan and butane in various proportions. To liquefied hydrocarbonic gas, in particular, pertains:
• liquefied propan - butane technical;
• liquefied propan technical;
• liquefied butane technical;
• liquefied propan - butane automobile.
  
  Since 2000, world consumption of LPG is at stably high level. According to agency P&G forecast world consumption of will grow by 2010 to 250 million tons.
The basic growth was in countries of Asian-Pacific region — from 16-17 to 30–35 % in global structure of consumption. At the same time in the countries with long time developed infrastructure in all sectors of use of LPG (USA, Western Europe) consumption remains practically stable.

  In 1990th the average annual increase of world demand on liquefied petroleum gas advanced growth of their production (4,2 and 3,3 %, accordingly) and almost in 2 times exceeded a similar indicator for oil. Only in the countries of the former USSR and number of the states of the Eastern Europe during this period temporary recession of consumption of LPG took place. Volumes of LPG production and consumption again have again started to increase in Russia only in the late 90th. By present Russia, according to official data, produces approximately 8 million tons liquefied hydrocarbonic gases in year from which about 6 million tons is used up-country.

  World demand on LPG continues to grow and in 2000th, though smaller paces. The leading role in this process still belongs to the countries of Asia. Is expected that by 2020 world consumption of LPG will reach 300 million tons in year.

  Four basic sectors of application LPG were formed: municipal sector, industrial sector, transport and petrochemistry. Scales of use of LPG in each of these areas depend on variety of the factors specific to the concrete country or region.

Industrial sector

  The propane - butane is used as fuel in systems of heating of the industrial enterprises and as a source of heat for number of technological processes. The competition the propane-butane mix here is by diesel fuel, black oil and natural gas. The Propane-butane – power effective, harmless and convenient fuel in storage; at the same time price for it in in most countries of the world is too high in comparison with alternative kinds of fuel that contains growth of consumption of propane-butane in industrial sector. Currently this sector occupies 12–12,5 % in global structure of LPG consumption. In the last some years in Russia are observed growing interest to use of propane-butane as starting and reserve fuel at the enterprises using natural gas as the basic fuel.

Petrochemistry

  On a share of petrochemical branch are 22 % of world LPG consumption. The highest concentration of demand differ industrially developed regions: in USA for needs of the petrochemical industry is spent about 50 % from the total consumption of LPG, in Western Europe (on the average on region) – about 24 %, whereas in Asia – only about 7 %. Despite presence of heavy LPG users in the given sector in Japan, South Korea and China and creation of the large enterprises for petrochemical processing of LPG in the Near East, the basic (over 80 %) volume of world consumption of LPG as hydrocarbonic raw materials still is to America and Europe.


  For today production of LPG in Russia is approximately at level of 1991. In structure of industrial sector about 41 % is on the enterprises of gas processing, about 35 % – on enterprises of petrochemistry and about 24 % – on the oil refining enterprises. Among the companies-producers the leading place occupies OJSC "Gazprom" (60 % from manufacture total amount, or 5 million ton/ year).

Since 2000 rates of growth  of production of LPG (5–6 % per year) by 2010 should be 11-12 million tons. Number of massive problems (in among others  — exclusive character of Russian market LPG, defects of existing system of state regulation of the prices, insufficiently developed character of infrastructure of deliveries liquefied gas to consumers) at the present stage interferes the accelerated development of production of LPG and full-scale use of existing resource base.

• Structure of LPG consumption, mln. tons